Wrap Skirt: Better than I thought + Helpful things

Hey Donk,

So, I'm glad you finished your skirt before I did, since you were the lone positive voice in my head as I approached this project, and also you kept me from dragging my skirt to the trash about three separate times.

"It's the nicest thing I've ever made."

These are big words from Mrs. I've Made a Million Things, so it immediately helped me move forward even though I was *sure* I was going to not love this project so much. Like, I was already imagining how I would break it to you when I decided to make another Barcelona Skirt and pass it off as my wrap skirt by putting a ribbon belt on it or something.

I know. I'm bad.

But this skirt had two strikes against it going in. Specifically, it appeared to have a HIGH waist (I'm more a fan of the "So low as to bring in to question the appropriateness of particular undergarments" waistlines) and it wasn't the Barcelona skirt, which we all know I love and to which have dedicated a good portion of my closet.

In the end, I forged ahead. I had a lot of that green linen leftover from my ill-fated Pintucked Runner project and I needed to convince myself that it wasn't cursed and, thus, sitting with the rest of my fabric stash just cursing it all up.

Also, I don't like to publicly shame myself, so coming to the sew-a-long table with nothing but a sad look and some "cursed" fabric, pretty much put me in Public Shame territory and wasn't something I was willing to deal with.

Helpful Things

Problem
I am lazy, as is well-documented, so when I read through the pattern and it called for precisely pressing the 3" ribbon in half to make sure that the belt would be picked up on both sides when sewing the waistline, I sorta panicked.

How precise is precise? Obviously too precise for me, Mrs. Hey That Looks About Right as I Eyefuck Things That Require Exact Measurement.

Solution: Blanket Binding

Not only did I manage to find it (after ruthlessly digging through the drawer below the poorly stocked display) in a good color - it was cheaper than similar width ribbon from the shelf and WOO was already pressed in half precisely by a very precise machine somewhere so I didn't have to worry about my imprecise methods. WOO again.

I was very tempted to get the hot pink, but didn't want to call attention to the fucked up buttonhole I was sure to make, so left it at the matching sage green and called it a day. After I also bought a pale yellow and an icy blue, just in case I got frisky and decided green was too bland.

Miraculous sidenote: The buttonhole did not come out fucked up! I know. I was shocked, too.

Problem 2
Darts on a skirt are scary and there weren't any pictures (I need more pictures, people!) showing me exactly, stitch by stitch, how to sew the darts and when I can't see it for myself I start to doubt that it can happen and then I start doing stupid things like "interpreting" directions in a way that makes some kind of sense to me. And then things go horribly awry and projects start going in the trash.

Solution: Youtube
This nice woman showed me step-by-gloriously eye-opening-step just how one goes about sewing darts in clothing. And, strangely enough, it looked almost like she was sewing the same size darts I was, which was a handy coincidence seeing as I need things spelled out for me in the most specific Tell Me Like I'm Four kind of way.

Also, she shows you how to tie a tailor's knot at the base of your darts so they stay crisp and nice, which is a great little touch and made me feel professional, if for only a moment between swears and sips of my G&T.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm proud to say that I do, in fact, like this skirt and I did not end up throwing it out. No. It's stowed safely in the closet, near the Barcelona Skirts, waiting for its debut.

I'll say that I'd rather it were a little longer (not a fan of my scarred soccer knees) and a little less poofy (why must we accentuate the hips?), but when worn at the proper waist height with a fitted blouse and my 4" heels, I feel a little prissy and a little prim and like my grandma would probably be proud of her prim and prissy granddaughter for five minutes. And also probably glad that, for once, she wasn't going to have to stare at the birthmark on my lower back all day.

That's right y'all, I was born with a tramp stamp - no after market ink necessary.

Anyway - good call on this one, Donk. I'll start thinking about next month's project soon and will report back on July 1 with my answer.

Happy travels - I miss you already!

xo
Finny